Conservation Biology

Stefanie Roder

Research

MSc Thesis

In my thesis I focus on predator-prey relationships, namely between wolves and ungulates.
Wolves recolonizing the canton of Valais, Switzerland cause considerable conflicts with local communities, especially sheep breeders and hunters. However little is known about the habitat selection of the Valais wolves. We investigate if the prevailing prey densities (mainly red deer, but also roe deer and chamois) affect spatial recolonization patterns.
For this purpose we use relative abundance of prey calculated based on 4 years of snow-tracking. Prey densities, along with other environmental factors, are then used to analyse the habitat selection patterns of the spreading wolves, using data from the Swiss wolf monitoring and own camera traps.